Quilt frame help
 

I recently purchased a Ken Lund quilt frame and am now in need of all kinds of information and tips on best type of leaders, how to load my quilts on the frame, use my domestic machine to get the best quilting results, etc. Although nothing is probably as good as the Quilting Board for its members kind and generous sharing of all types of quilting help, does anyone have any suggestions for a similar forum that will specifically address issues of using a quilt frame? I will not be leaving the Quilting Board and thanks for any help any of you can offer but just am hoping for a site where I can find a concentration of information that will quickly get me up and running so I can play with my new toy.

Welcome Neighbor!!! You can google Ken Lund quilt frame and there are several youtube videos that you can watch. I'm a hand quilter, so can't help you...

My tip for leaders is to use a strong fabric. Pillow ticking material is recommended -- that heavier fabric with gray or blue stripes. Muslin is not sufficiently heavy. Hinterberg and other frame websites sell zippers for leaders.

There are lots of groups that deal with frame quilting. Try homequiltingsystems on groups.yahoo.com . That is a large, active group with members who have many different types of setups. It is more oriented to longarm and midarm machines, but all the information about loading quilts, leaders, etc. will be applicable to your setup.

Youtube is a really excellent source of information about leaders, floating the batting and top, etc. Here is a link to a recent video I watched that showed a different method for doing a small quilt on a frame (using basting spray, which is not common for frame quilting):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3LqEi4_z0

Quilt frame help
 

Thank you 117becca & Prism99 for your suggestions for quilt frame use. I have already watched several uTube videos and Prism99, I will check out the group you mentioned. I have an oversized king sized quilt top that has gone unquilted for over 10 years now because I was afraid to tackle quilting something so big with my domestic sewing machine. I notice that most of the videos showing how to load quilt machines use small pieces for demonstration so I will start with something smaller than my king but that is what I hope to work up to. Just feeling rather intimidated at the moment.

117becca, I have noticed your posts in the past and wondered where you were located. Maybe we will cross paths some day at a quilt show or shop.

before you get cracking on your 'good' tops practice on something that you don't care about or just a sandwich of a cheater cloth to go around lines etc. what you are learning is how to move etc. You will probably have many adjustments
to make before you will feel ready to quilt one of your good ones.

The limitation for an oversize king is not going to be the frame; it's going to be the harp size on your domestic machine.

One way to get around the limitations of a machine's throat size is to mount the widest side of the quilt on the frame, quilt to the middle, then remove the quilt at the halfway point (roll would be filling the throat by this time) and re-mount from the other side. Lots of quilters do this, but I think it is more often done on queen size quilts with a Juki or other 9-inch throat machine.

I think it would be possible to quilt a large quilt like this with the batting cut into sections, similar to the way one would split batting into sections for quilting on a table.

The limitation is how much rolled up quilt can fit under the arm of the machine.

I purchased one of his frames, and had to change the trolley somewhat. My father helped me replace the front wheels of the trolley with caster rollers which rotate 360 degrees. I like to quilt lots of swirls and the original design just didn't allow for that very well - it came out more like a square with rounded corners. But the caster rollers work like a champ! If you do this, you should have no problems. Keep in touch and let us know how it works! Good luck.

I have Ken's frame also and I like it a lot but I noticed I don't get really rounded swirls unless I am at a perfect machine sewing speed. I am also getting use to my new machine. My husband put a long, narrow metal strip on the front frame behind the wheels so the carriage would not be able to turn a little sideways like it was trying to do at times. I will mention the caster rollers that you have and maybe try them too. All in all I am happy with this purchase since it was affordable and my first try to even see how I like machine quilting with a frame.

I used a panel to quilt on first and now I am ready to use a solid dark fabric with light thread. I will either us the Pounce to put the design on the fabric or the paper designs and stitch right over the paper. I haven't decided..or I may do both on the fabric!!

I did buy pillow ticking for the leader and it works out great. IT is a nice sturdy weight fabric.

I learn a lot by watching some of the long arm quilting videos on You Tube.